You may not give your gutters much thought other than for aesthetic reasons – for better or worse. But, your rain gutters are actually very important to your roofing system, your home, and your property. Following are five good reasons why you need to take care of your gutters

PROTECT SHINGLES AND ROOFING SYSTEM

The roofing system on your home entails much more than the outer surface you see. There is underlayment, decking, fascia board, and, yes, your gutters. The gutter system’s job is to convey water – vast amounts of water – away from the other parts of your roof.

If gutters are dirty and clogged with debris, rainwater and snowmelt become dammed up and begin to penetrate shingles and decking lumber. Over time, this can cause a serious amount of damage to your roof to the point it needs to be replaced.

LANDSCAPING

Dammed water, leaks, separated gutter seams – all of these allow water to overflow or flow through and end up on your landscaping and walkways. Damage can occur rather quickly, whether to soft or hard landscape features of your home. The ground can become saturated and hardscapes can crack.

EXTERIOR WALLS

Clogged gutters not only allow water to seep into the roofing structure, a clogged or sagging gutter system allows water to run down the walls of your home. Sooner or later, water always finds the path of least resistance – or makes one – which could be cracks in your home’s exterior and down the inside of walls.

ATTIC AREA

Unfinished attics are another area in your home that are prone to water damage, high humidity, and moisture damage. Overflowing water in your gutters not only can damage outer walls and the roofing system, this water can play havoc in your attic.

Your roofing contractor should inspect your attic once a year (and following storms) for signs of water damage from a leaky roof and from leaky and overflowing gutters. Following are some signs of water damage:

  • Wet and moldy insulation.
  • Water stains on timber.
  • Mold and mildew on timber.
  • Light shining through the decking.
  • Soft spots on decking.

Take a look in your attic. If you see any of these signs, call your roofer ASAP!

KEEP BASEMENT DRY

From the top of your home to the bottom, it can be rather tricky and troublesome trying to keep your basement dry in your home. Basements tend to be damp to begin with. Add wet concrete block walls to this mix and you’re always going to have water problems in your basement.

When water overflows gutters and seeps down into the soil, this water pushes on your foundation walls to the cracking point. Water seeps in and flooding can occur. A little water is unavoidable, but we’re talking about thousands of gallons of rainwater and snowmelt a year.

Now that you may better understand exactly what gutters do and why they’re so important to your home, give us a call at Aurum Contracting for an inspection! WI (608) 466-6875 and IL (815) 318-0277. Thanks for stopping by!